What was unusual in tonight’s Lehigh Valley win of a suspended rain postponed game was not so much that it was originally started back on May 4th in Allentown and completed in Charlotte, North Carolina or Pat Misch will be listed as the starting pitcher in both games tonight, but the Pigs won the game which ended with six of the 10 players in the lineup signed and developed by the Phillies.

Last year Baseball Betsy and I attended several of Lehigh Valley’s playoff games against Pawtucket and Columbus. It was a good team but the only starting position player originally signed by the Phillies in several of the games was shortstop Freddy Galvis. Three other pitchers draft by the Phils Joe Savery, Joe Zaguski and Justin DeFratus also appeared in the games. We did see Cody Overbeck in a game or two and the only time we saw Domonic Brown was occasionally coaching first base. In other words the IronPigs were mostly free agents signed and let go by other organizations. In fact it got so bad back in 2010 then Lehigh Valley Manager Dave Huppert complained about the free agents on the team in newspaper reports just before he was let go at the end of that season.

In tonight’s suspended game the IronPigs lineup ended up with Steve Susdorf in right, Tim Kennelly at third, Cody Overbeck at first, Tuffy Gosewisch catching, Derrick Mitchell in left and Michael Schwimer on the bump, as they now call it. All of them signed or drafted originally by the Phillies. All of them played part or all season at Reading last year. Even Domonic Brown did not play in the suspended game but was ready on the bench. The Pigs also had Phillies drafted players Tyson Brummett and B.J. Rosenberg ready in the pen and Austin Hyatt and Tyler Cloyd will pitch in later games in the series in the starting rotation. Eleven of the players currently active on the Pigs roster have been signed and developed by the Phillies organization.

In the suspended game, Mitchell had a two run rbi double, a walk, a stolen base, and picked up an assist on a 7-4 double play, Overbeck hit a home run and won the game, 5-4, in the bottom of the 10th inning with an walk off single scoring Susdorf who had walked and moved to second on a walk by Kennelly. Schwimer picked up the win.

Right now, Manager Ryne Sandberg has the IronPigs playing around .600 baseball which is good for the second best record in the International League and the fourth best record of all 30 AAA teams. Not bad for a team that is finally getting to look like a truly Phillies minor league team and not a bunch of free agents signed from other organizations. To me this shows how the upper portions of the Phillies minor league system has improved from previous seasons.

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About Baseball Ross

I have been a faithful Phillies follower all my life. Today I am most intrigued by those players in the minor league system who work every day of the year to make it to the Show. This is what this blog is mostly all about.
To read more, click here:
https://baseballross.wordpress.com/2012/02/05/how-i-got-started-in-baseball/